Models of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Articles: 1. Thirsting for More: Trends in Catholic (youthworker.com) – Comprehensive Ministry w/ Multiple Groups 2. When it comes to nurturing , smaller is often better. (America Magazine) – Small Groups 3. Ministry Model (Wikipedia) – Traditional Group Model 4. Principles For Pastoral Juvenil (SEPI) – Hispanic Youth & Young Adult Ministry

Thirsting for More: Trends in Catholic Youth Ministry Christine Albrecht

The youth ministry model that rocked my world during high school—not so many years ago, or at least it doesn’t feel like it—doesn’t work with Catholic youth these days.

Teens in the Roman seem different, because they are, says Kris Walters, coordinator of youth ministry at Holy in Lenexa, Kansas. She credits a generational shift. There is “more of a thirst for the sacred and a search for meaning within that sacred,” said Walters.

Today’s Catholic teens want to know what our faith means, and they want it in a relevant structure. Thankfully, the church is rising up to meet the need.

Teens Want to Know Their Church Liz Buncher, coordinator of youth ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, said teens are getting back to their roots. “Teens are beginning to cling to the traditions of our Catholic faith. While they appreciate music and your typical youth-friendly activities, they’re craving silence and contemplative prayer.”

Bob McCarty, executive director of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministries based in Washington, D.C., said that in today’s fast- paced culture, the Catholic message gets diffused. Teens want to know who they are as Catholics.

From Youth Groups to Youth Groupings McCarty said there’s a change in methodology happening, “from youth groups to youth groupings.”

Young people come to the church from different economic and geographic backgrounds, cultures, time commitments, needs, interests and spiritualities, McCarty pointed out. “To think that one approach could meet those needs, I think is crazy.” He said that good youth ministry is like a cafeteria, featuring a variety of offerings to fit varying needs and schedules.

Teens, said Walters, desire to be in an authentic and intentional community. Large-scale programs are no longer where the teens are.

“I think there’s a dying of this high-energy, high-produced praise and worship event,” he said. “I think the challenge right now is trying to figure out how to transition our current structure toward a small group, small community model.”

It Takes a But a youth can’t do it alone. are increasing their support of youth ministry.

As a parish-based youth minister, Walters said he’s seeing a prevalence of Sunday Masses geared toward the younger generation. These Masses often include contemporary Christian worship music and a youth-focused homily. In some parishes, the first several pews are reserved for young people, and the youth group meets immediately following the .

Walters also has seen an increase in full-time staff positions, one to two per parish, sometimes even three, specifically dedicated to youth ministry.

Buncher, who works to support parish youth ministers on a diocesan level, said she’s seen an increase in parishioners stepping up to volunteer to lead youth ministry programs when no full-time staff member is in place.

McCarty said that as programs shift to small-group models, youth leaders must both draw teens into the life of the community, and “mobilize the entire parish community on behalf of the young people,” he said. A youth leader can become the “orchestrator of gifts” of the community, identifying gifts of individuals and connecting them with needs.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in Catholic youth ministry,” said McCarty, who has seen the better part of two decades as a ministry volunteer.

And I’m excited to see what God does with it.

When it comes to nurturing faith, smaller is often better. Graham Healey May 24, 2016

In late November 2015, I journeyed to the palm tree-lined campus of Santa Clara University in California in hopes of seeing the future of the Catholic Church. I wasn’t disappointed. That evening, I participated in a meeting of a small group of students on campus and listened as they eagerly explored questi ons about God, their faith and its relevance to their everyday lives. The fact that exams were starting the next day posed no deterrent to this weekly gathering of undergraduates who, judging from their sincerity and candor, took their quite seriously. As one young w oman earnestly told the group, she needed this period of prayer, reflection and faith-sharing to “ground her” for the intellectual challenge and pressure she knew awaited her in the busy exam days ahead. Her fellow students nodded in knowing appreciation. This determined band is one of 30 groups at Santa Clara known as Christian Life Communities (CLCs), each consisting of seven to ten students who meet one night during the week. Sessions are led by a senior-year facilitator and range in scope from sharing their highs and lows of the previous week to a breathing meditation, and from drawing an image of God to lectio divina. The principle of finding God in all things is woven through every discussion and activity. Santa Clara University, a Jesuit school of 8,800 at the scenic southern tip of San Francisco Bay, is not alone in this spiritual venture. The intimate tableau of Catholic students around a table for an hour or two of communal reflection is repeated on other campuses across the country, from Yale, Boston College and Georgetown to Princeton, Stanford and Notre Dame. It’s an admittedly modest movement that goes under a variety of names: Campus RENEW Groups, Small Christian Communities, Study Groups, Small Ecumenical Communities and more. But as I observed firsthand during my travels to ten campuses last summer and fall, size is unimportant. Faith sharing groups by any name constitute a grassroots effort whose success the Catholic Church in America can hardly afford to ignore if it holds any aspir ations of remaining relevant to the lives of millions of young adults. Indeed, the steady and alarming drift not just of young people but of membe rs of all ages away from the institutional Catholic Church, coupled with the crisis-level shortage of to oversee this fraying system, makes it clearer than ever that the church needs to come up with better models.

The Origins of Small Faith Communities Small faith sharing groups are hardly a new phenomenon. Their European roots can be traced to the sodality movement and speci alized groups such as , Young Christian Students and the Christian Family Movement. One recal ls, too, the dynamic influence of Cardinal and the “see-judge-act” method as central to the small faith communities. In Eastern Africa, where I’ve served as an American Maryknoll missionary since 1968, Small Christian Communities, as t hey are commonly known, have become the pastoral lifeblood of the Christian community over the past 40 years, as they also h ave in parts of South America (especially Brazil) and (especially and South Korea). The springboard for Small Christian Comm unities was the (1962-65). Though not specifically mentioned in the council’s documents, SCCs arose from a desire to put the ecclesiology and teachings of Vatican II (the awakening of the church as the “”) into practice. The Germ an theologian Karl Rahner, S.J., wrote at the time, “The Church in the future will be one built from below by basic communities as a result of free initiative and association. We should make every effort not to hold up this development, but to promote it and direct it on the right lines.” Father Rahner’s prophecy came to pass in Eastern Africa, which played a pioneering role in developing Small Christian Communities as a vital new way of “living” the church. It was an unapologetic way of saying the traditional notion of the church as a large, a nonymous parish where people go once a week for an hour-long service and then retreat to their homes and private activities, was inadequate for many. Instead, SCCs became the core of parish life in the African dioceses. Today, there are over 180,000 SCCs in the nine co untries of Eastern Africa (Tanzania has over 60,000 and Kenya over 45,000). SCCs are not some disaffected, breakaway faction of the church but an integral part of it, enjoying the full support of the Catholic bishops. Groups consist of between 10 to 15 people (they keep size in check by branching off into new communities) that meet weekly, usually in private homes in the neighborhood though sometimes in parish, school or other settings. They are small enough to be personal but large enough to satisfy members’ varied gifts, tastes and needs. They interact with other Small Christian Communities every day, not just on Sundays. For many of us in Eastern Africa, they are a way of life. As Tanzanian theologian Fr. Laurenti Magesa has so aptly pointed out, SCCs are “the root from which the wider church emerges. " Without them, the broader, or ‘catholic,’ church cannot be realized in the manner that Francis describes in his apostolic e xhortation “The Joy of the .”

Taking Hold on U.S. Campuses Given my adopted country Kenya’s rich history with Small Christian Communities (and my own involvement with Youth Small Christian Communities at Eastern African universities and colleges), I was excited about sharing my experiences with my young Catholic brothers and sisters in America. As I began my campus tour, however, my mission assumed an even more urgent focus: what could I learn and bring back to Africa from this dynamic campus ministry model taking root on U.S. soil? St. Chapel and Center at Yale University afforded me a lode of material. The center's 14 small faith communities are an integral part of the spiritual and pastoral ministry at Yale. Students described them to me as a powerful vehicle for their f aith formation and for opportunities aimed at spiritual learning, prayer, mutual support, shared experience of Christian living and service to the church and the community. Groups of five to 12 students assemble on any given evening of the week in seminar rooms at the Thomas E. Golden Jr. Center. Following a welcome by the group leader and an opening prayer, members pore over readings for the coming Sunday’s celebration of the Eucharist. Sometimes the conversation veers to physics or foreign policy (after all, this is Yale!), but by the end of the evening parti cipants are animatedly discussing how to put their faith into action. Afterwards, the leader prepares a short summary and gives it to the chaplains who answer any outstanding questions or incorporate the group’s insights into the Sunday homily. These small groups also house a novel program known as ESTEEM (Engaging Students to Enliven the Ecclesial Mission) launched in 2011 with valuable input from the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management. It is designed as a way to harness the intelligence and unbridled energy of young people on behalf of the church. In the course of creating its groundbreaking program, ESTEEM was painfully aware of the exodus of young Catholics—some of them potential leaders—from the church. ESTEEM is active today on 11 campuses from coast to coast where the program’s meetings, retreats, seminars and fieldwork are linked to strong campus ministry programs. As my visits would soon confirm, each campus has inspired a different faith-sharing model. Georgetown University uses Campus RENEW, sponsored by RENEW International, as part of its young adult outreach and evangelization programs. Georgetown President John DeGioia commented that “in our RENEW faith sharing groups on campus our Catholic students are so grateful for the opport unity to deepen their faith through discussion with fellow participants.” At Stanford University, the cluster of seven small faith groups is driven by a campus ministry known as Encounter Christ. Thi s ministry is coordinated by Evangelical Catholic, a program that responds to the church’s call for a new evangelization. The spirit of that program was best captured by a first year student I met, Carolyne Manion, who said that amid an outpouring of extracurricular activities available to her at Stanford she chose a small faith group to deepen her faith and Catholic identity on campus. As a way of enriching this experience at the Thursday night meetings she attends, participants sometimes write on a slip of paper a probing question about their faith. Th ese slips are drawn randomly from a hat and discussed in no-holds-barred by the entire group. Aside from a better understanding of her spirituality, Carolyne says she has developed from her small group experience close and meaningful relationships with other m embers. They even study together in the Catholic community center “space” on campus.

Small Groups as a Model for Change After months of interviews and attending meetings with these young ambassadors for small faith sharing groups, I was faced wi th the unavoidable question: "After college, then what?" Following graduation, how can these students find a similarly rewarding and nurturing experience in the parishes or other pastoral or spiritual settings to which they return? It’s a question with profound implic ations for the entire Catholic Church in America given the fact young adults comprise approximately 40 percent of its population. The answer is not encouraging. A large number of Catholic men and women graduating from institutions of higher learning are n ot finding a good fit—a true spiritual and service-oriented home—in their local parishes. Parish-based small faith communities for young adults are a rarity in the United States. Some graduates manage to find sustenance in alumni-based communities. Some participate in , a program of lectures and discussion on current topics of religion and theology sponsored by local Catholic dioceses. Others connect with a variety of programs answering the Catholic Church's call for a new evangelization, such as Fellowship o f Catholic University Students (FOCUS) and Evangelical Catholic. The ESTEEM program, for its part, prepares young men and women for leadership roles in parishes after college. Still other graduates gravitate to small Bible study groups in Protestant churche s. Go to almost any parish and you’ll find Bible study groups and other kinds of prayer groups whose members meet regularly to share the Scriptures and fellowship. But these gatherings are not nearly as developed or integrated into the fabric of parish pastoral life as Small Christian Communities are in Africa and elsewhere. They remain on the fringes of the Catholic Church even though a number of parishes in Hartford, Conn., Erie, Pa., St. Petersburg, Fla., and San Bernardino, Calif., are restructuring around small faith sharing communities. Clearly, more work needs to be done at the parish and diocesan levels to enfranchise a significant demographic slice of the Catholic Church. What I found in my travels is that young people want to be part of service-oriented and justice- and peace-oriented groups with which they feel a strong affinity. Young married couples want to discuss their concerns and issues with like -minded couples, and when they have children they want to seek out other parents. I found embryonic signs of intergenerational groups of grandparents, parents and children coalescing into extended Christian families. In no small way, it’s really about creating specialized small groups to fit the demographic need.

A Course of Action What can the Catholic Church do to promote this type of meaningful change within its present structure? Clearly, it must start with church leaders taking a page from the book of the Eastern African bishops and recognize small faith sharing groups as an important, if not essential, pastoral option—one that’s connected to the structures, ministries and activities of the parish. I learned through my discussions that young people today are not necessarily angry with or opposed to the church. They simply feel it’s not relevant to their lives. Instead, they’re looking to share and express their Catholicism in a less institutionalized, more personalized setting, one that’s more community- and service-minded. They’re looking for more than traditional Sunday Mass to hone their faith. Many people wrongly use “going to Mass on Sunday” as the litmus test of whether a person is a practicing Catholic or an active Catholic. Mary Evelyn Jegan, S.N.D., tells the story of her nephew who drifted away from the Catholic faith and stopped going to Mass o n Sunday. Every Thursday, however, he visited an elderly man in a nursing home and gave him a shave. As Sister Jegan put it, “My nephew goes to Mass on Thursdays.” Small faith sharing groups are successful on campuses in the United States because they fulfill a need. But there is a gap be tween the “have” and “have not” campuses. According to the Center for Applied Research in the , only 28 percent of U.S. campuses have a Catholic ministry presence. How do we reach Catholic college students at the large public universities and those “on the ma rgins and peripheries of society,” to use ’ words? Lay theologian Kevin Ahern calls for a much-needed “national conversation” that involves bishops and religious on how we target young adults in their college and postcollege years. “I don't worry so much about students at the Ivy League schools or big Catholic schools,” he asserts. “I worry more about the students at community colleges, small private schools and state schools.” In order to respond convincingly to the institutional crisis of recent years, the church must willingly pursue bold new ways to engage members of all ages in prayer, Scripture study, discussion of everyday and ecclesial problems, and practical service outreach . Small Christian groups are a tried and true expression of communion and church vitality in regions around the world. They are a vehicle that the U.S. Catholic Church, in clear need of change, should be actively exploring.

Joseph Graham Healey Joseph Graham Healey, M.M., is a specialist in Small Christian Communities as a teacher, researcher and writer.

Life Teen Ministry Model Life Teen has developed a dynamic model to help Youth Ministers and adult program leaders, known as Core members, execute comprehensive Catholic youth ministry in a parish setting. In the program, youth typically attend a Sunday Mass specifically intended for them, which is also often attended by teens' families and other interested parishioners. Music and homilies are focused on teens and teens are invited to be trained in approved liturgical ministries such as lectors, ushers, altar servers, greeters, and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. Following Mass, a "Life Night" is held, which incorporates teaching in Catholic beliefs, interactive activities, and socialization.

Most Life Teen Programs utilize multiple events during the week, such as Bible Studies, social events, and the like to provide teenagers with healthy and holy activities to take part in during the week that will not only strengthen their bonds with each other, but will strengthen their relationship with God as well.

Every Life Teen program is encouraged to host two weekend-long retreats for their teens. Life Teen programs are typically established in individual parishes. Mass Life Teen maintains a focus on helping teens fall deeper in love with in the Eucharist. Primarily this is done through celebration of a youth focused Mass, "the most important part" of every Life Teen and Edge program. While particular efforts are made to create a welcoming atmosphere, reverent and relevant music, and an engaging homily that speaks to the issues in teens' lives, While these liturgies often referred to by parishes as a "Life Teen" Mass, they are not a teen only Mass, but a regular/communal Mass that is normally celebrated on Sunday evening. Each week thousands of people attend one of these liturgies. The focus of the youth Mass is on helping teens and their families to fully participate, understand, and foster transformation through their prayer at Mass. Portions of homilies are often geared toward teenagers, their culture, and the relevance of their faith today. The music ranges from traditional Catholic hymns sometimes with a modern arrangement, to the latest Catholic worship songs. Instrumentation, quality sound and an emphasis on song as prayer help give an energy and reverence to these Masses. Life Teen has a transcription of a video talk by Fr. Robert Schreiner explaining the role of music within Liturgy. Life Nights Following the Mass are gatherings that are aimed to be both fun and to challenge teens to go deeper in their relationship with God and to know more about their Catholic faith. Known as Life Nights, they are systematic catechetical gatherings with four distinct segments: Gather, Proclaim, Break, and Send. These segments are derived from the flow of the Mass  Gather: This section of the Life Night involves an invitation to the teenagers that welcomes them to a Life Night. This can be anything from an interactive game, a chance to win a prize, a skit or a funny video clip. Depending upon the specific night, some nights might utilize several of these aids. Also considered a part of the Gather is any promotion done at the youth Mass (which normally directly precedes a Life Night). This promotion can take several forms such as the Youth Minister making an announcement or the Core members passing out an object related to the theme of the night to try to pique the interest of the teens. The Gather is always directly related to the main message of the night.  Proclaim: This section of the Life Night is devoted to the main teaching for the night. The Proclaim is advised to be 10–15 minutes long, depending on the topic. Typically, the presentation is usually given by the Youth Minister, another Core member, a member, or a team of people. Life Teen also has a prepared DVD component for certain Life Nights which can be shown in place of a live teaching.  Break: In this section of the Life Night, teenagers are given the chance to "break open" the message of the night. Typically this takes the form of small groups. Life Teen recommends one adult for every 6-8 teens in a group. Certain Life Nights recommend a large group wrap session or doing a group activity (like a prayer walk) to provide the teens a chance to digest the message of the night.  Send: The send portion of a Life Night is to wrap up the Life Night by giving the teens a way to take the message they learned and apply it to their lives at home. Generally the send involves some personal prayer time. Depending on the night, teens might be given the chance to make a personal commitment to do something or not do something. The teens may also be presented with a small gift (such as holy water, a nail or a cross) to help them remember the message of the night. Life Teen also recommends the closing of each Life Night with a reminder of what the next Life Night will be and having the teens say as a group the and sing Ave Maria. Life Nights come in three varieties: catechetical, issue, and social. Catechetical nights are designed to teach teens about some aspect of the Catholic faith. Issue nights deal with real life issues that teens deal with on a daily basis such as gossip, chastity, or drinking. Social nights are designed to help teens build friendships and develop stronger social bonds. Core values Life Teen is guided by seven core values.

1. Eucharistic spirituality - As the Eucharist is the "source and summit"[15] of the Catholic faith, Life Teen focuses the program on the Mass and receiving Christ in the Eucharist. 2. Love - Life Teen strives to show every teen that attends the Mass or a program offered that they are loved. 3. Joy - Life Teen professes that "Jesus is a reason to be joyful and excited about life" and attempts to make sure that every experience a teen has with Life Teen is a positive one. 4. Affirmation - As a community, all who take part in Life Teen are expected to support and encourage one another. 5. Authenticity - Life Teen encourages teens to live an authentic life, one where they do not wear a "mask" or pretend to be someone they are not. 6. Evangelization - As Jesus commissioned his disciples to "make disciples of all nations," Life Teen believes "that every teenager deserves a chance to have a relationship with Jesus" and invites all to participate. 7. Primary vocation - The adult leaders of Life Teen are also called to take care of their primary responsibilities ahead of their commitments to Life Teen or any other purpose.

PRINCIPLES FOR PASTORAL JUVENIL YOUNG HISPANICS FROM THE SOUTHEAST USA “PASTORAL JUVENIL” PROPOSAL (Drafted in Atlanta, GA on May 1994 they were later reviewed during the XIII Regional Youth Encounter held in St. Augustine on September 1994 and reformulated in the Adult Advisor’s Workshop held in Orlando on August 2001) “Pastoral Juvenil” should be a process carried out by the youth which invites to know and follow Jesus as the source of fullness in life and the true human dignity. This process should stem from reality and life experience of young people and should lead them to an ever growing knowledge and following of Christ and his mission in order to transform their lives, develop leadership and find their true vocation in the Church and society.

SEPI’S BASIC PRINCIPLES OF “PASTORAL JUVENIL” These Principles were drafted with the collaboration of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Dioceses of Orlando, St. Augustine and St. Petersburg on August 20th, 1995. They were later reviewed on August 17th, 1996 by members of the Archdioceses of Atlanta and Miami and the Dioceses of Charleston, Orlando, Palm Beach, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg and Venice. They were again reviewed in the Adult Advisors Workshop on August 5, 2000 and finally approved in the XV Youth Regional Encounter on September 16, 2000 with the collaboration of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Dioceses of Birmingham, Charleston, Orlando, Pensacola-Tallahassee, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg and Venice. They were reviewed again in the Adult Advisors Workshop on August 4th , 2001 with the participation of the Archdiocese of Mobile and the Dioceses of Charleston, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, Palm Beach, Pensacola-Tallahassee, St. Augustine and St. Petersburg. Reviewed again in the “XVIII Encuentro Regional Juvenil” held in Winder in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, April 11-13, 2008 with the attendance of the Archdioceses of Atlanta and Miami and the Dioceses of Birmingham, Charleston, Charlotte, Knoxville, Lexington, Palm Beach, Raleigh, St. Augustine, Savannah, and Venice. They were approved with minor modifications in the Workshop for Adult Advisors on August 2008 with the participation of the Archdiocese of Mobile, AL; and the Dioceses of Charleston, SC; Charlotte, NC: Knoxville, TN; Pensacola-Tallahasse, FL; St. Augustine, FL; Savannah, GA and Venice, FL

I. General Objective  Hispanic “Pastoral Juvenil” is organized in order to accompany young people in their growth as human beings and in the development of their Christian commitment.  Every “Pastoral Juvenil” activity will have a conversion dimension (participation in Christ’s ) which will challenge young people to live the fullness of the life Christ brought us (John 10,10)  This conversion will come about through a progressive process which will present ever bigger challenges to young people so as to promote in them a deep sacramental and prayer experience. This experience should lead them to a not only emotionally but socially and ecclesially committed way of living.

II. Organization And Structure  “Pastoral Juvenil” will have three integrated dimensions: Formation, Recreation and Service.  Formation should faithfully follow the teachings of the Catholic Church as they appear on Vatican II Council documents, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, papal and documents of the US Conference of Bishops in particular the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry (*). Regarding recreation, it should help foster closer human relations and our cultural identity. The service dimension should promote young people’s participation in public life regarding the needs of their communities. It should also help them make a vocational discernment (GS 73, 74 & 75).  “Pastoral Juvenil” should be organized, according to local realities, in two or three different levels: pre-adolescents, adolescents and young adults. The final number of levels and the age range of each one is something to be determined by the different dioceses according to their social reality.  In every parish or community, every level may have one or more groups, according to local needs, for example: a choir group, a mission group, a catechists group, etc.  Hispanic “Pastoral Juvenil” should be integrated in the Parish and/or Diocese structures, while maintaining its own identity.  Every Diocese will create a Diocesan Council of Pastoral Juvenil, which will gather at least once a month in order to program the processes of Pastoral Juvenil, implement and evaluate them.  This Diocesan Council of Pastoral Juvenil will be formed with the Adult Advisors of every group, the group coordinators and if the council so decides by any other person the council might consider necessary.  In dioceses with more than 10 Pastoral Juvenil groups, a Pastoral Juvenil Executive Committee will be set up. This will be formed by members elected from the Diocesan Council of Pastoral Juvenil. In these cases the Pastoral Juvenil Executive Committee will gather every month and the Diocesan Council of Pastoral Juvenil every three months.

III. Advisors and Coordinators  In order to achieve a robust “pastoral juvenil ” adult advisors and group coordinators should keep a permanent and indispensable communication with the and the parents of the members of the youth groups.  Adult Advisors are the backbone of Pastoral Juvenil. Their function is:  See that Hispanic Youth Ministry (Pastoral Juvenil Hispana) is established and organized at a parish level according to these principles.  Identify possible group coordinators and organize the work team.  Develop leadership among the members of the group in order to achieve continuity in the work.  Serve as liaison between the group and the different parish ministries, the and the community at large.  Coordinate meetings the parents of the members of the groups, keeping and indispensable communication in order to have a robust pastoral juvenil.  Help the young people in their vocational discernment.  Identify possible professional resources which could help in the formation and leadership development processes.  Adult Advisors and Coordinator should work in harmony helping in the smooth functioning of the groups and they will try to interpret the needs of the young people and respond to them.  The function of the Group Coordinators is: o To implement, working with the Adult Advisor, the programs previously accorded. o Use his/her gifts for the benefit of the group fostering motivation and formation. o Coordinate the group and all its activities.  Adult Advisors and Group Coordinators should be Catholic practicing persons who lead a life according with those principles and whose moral behavior is in tune with the teachings of the Catholic Church.  The continuing work of the Adult Advisors and their commitment with the young people will assure the life and growth of a robust Pastoral Juvenil in each diocese. This continuity is made possible through leadership promotion in the youth groups.  Adult Advisors should be willing to receive the necessary formation in order to accompany the youth and serve them not only during weekends but also whenever is necessary.

IV. Programs  Every year all dioceses will celebrate a “Día de la Amistad” (Youth Day) to attract new young people to take part in the life of the groups.  The “Día de la Amistad” just like any other activity done by the groups should be carried out in a joyful way but always within the rich principles of our faith and avoiding any vulgarity or bad taste.  Every diocese should have a formation program adapted to its needs and may ask SEPI for assistance in carrying it out  More developed dioceses may help with mobile teams neighboring dioceses which might need this help in implementing their programs such as “Día de la Amistad” “Experiencia Cristo “ planning and evaluation workshops, etc.  SEPI will meet periodically with adult advisors to review their programs and to renovate them according to the different dioceses changing reality.  Every two years and working with a collaborative ministry spirit SEPI will organize a Regional Youth Encounter to help in the formation and coordination of adult advisors and coordinators in the Southeast Region.  Whenever this is possible the different dioceses will take part in the formation programs SEPI offers such as La Pascua Juvenil (Easter Book Workshops) , El Curso de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (Hispanic Youth Ministry Course) , El Taller para Asesores Adultos (Adult Advisors Workshop) , and La Escuela de Asesores Adultos (School for Adult Advisors).  At the beginning of every school year, the Diocesan Council of Pastoral Juvenil or the Pastoral Juvenil Executive Committee will promote that every youth group in the diocese set up a meeting to set that year’s objectives and projects and to evaluate the ones from the previous year.  Local “ Pastoral Juvenil” should promote, support and integrate itself with youth organizations working at the diocesan, regional or national level such as the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (aka La Red), NFCYM, and similar organizations which offer services to lower instances.

(*) Note: Among those documents we also consider the following Evangelii Nuntiandi, Renewing the Vision, Sons and Daughters of the Light, From Age to Age, Evangelization of Youth, CELAM PJ Documents

If you would like more information please contact our Pastoral Juvenil Regional Director at (305) 279-2333 Ext.2 or via email [email protected]